US Elections 2012

MIAMI: One week after Puerto Ricans approved a measure to become the 51st US state, doubts have begun to emerge over the meaning of the vote and their chances of joining the union.
Residents of the Caribbean island, seized from Spain in 1898, are US citizens, serve in the US military and have US passports, but cannot vote in US presidential elections.
The self-governing US territory's sole representative in Congress is a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives. However, island residents do not pay federal income taxes.
On November 6 Puerto Ricans were asked two questions in a non-binding vote that critics say was confusing.
First: "Do you agree that Puerto Rico should continue to have its present form of territorial status?" Fifty-two percent of voters answered no, according to official results.
Voters were then given three options: a) Join the United States as a state, b) Become an independent country, or c) Become ...

CHICAGO: Former Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan said Monday he has "no regrets" over the 2012 campaign despite losing the election last week.
In his first public comments since Mitt Romney was defeated by President Barack Obama after a multi-billion-dollar campaign, Ryan admitted the Democratic incumbent "did a better job of getting voters to the polls."
"It hurts to lose a big election like this, but I don't have any regrets whatsoever," Ryan told the Racine ...

MIAMI: With almost all ballots in Florida counted, US media on Saturday projected President Barack Obama the winner in that state four days after he won Tuesday's national election.
Florida brings his total of electoral votes to 332 versus 206 for Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Florida was the last state where the outcome was in doubt because three counties were still counting ballots.
Obama had 50.01 percent of the vote in Florida compared with 49.13 percent for Romney, ...

WASHINGTON: Construction is already underway on a huge platform on the steps of the US Capitol, where President Barack Obama will assume his second term on January 21, 2013.
Here is the political schedule between now and inauguration day.
November 13: Congress convenes for its "lame duck session." Senators and representatives of the 112th Congress elected in 2010 finish their final six weeks of work -- including addressing a raft of fiscal challenges before the next legislature ...

MIAMI: Presidential votes are still being counted in Florida, a protracted process that has evoked memories of the acrimonious 2000 election that was finally resolved by the US Supreme Court over a month later.
This year the Sunshine state did not play a pivotal role in the national race, as Barack Obama was re-elected Tuesday after winning enough electoral college votes in other states to pass the 270 threshold needed for victory.
Republican nominee Mitt Romney's campaign ...